NFT – we seem to hear the term thrown about all over the place these days, but what does it mean?  An NFT is a “non fungible token.” It is a unique digital asset that can be bought and sold online through the crypto-currency Ethereum.  It can come in the form of art, music, a video game asset, digital sports card, and even the first tweet on Twitter!

Seventh-grade English teacher Mr. Nathan Ginnetty has some knowledge of NFTs due to its global popularity. “An NFT uses blockchain technology to produce artwork that is unique because of its very code,” he said. The use of blockchain, a public ledger that records or tracks the trading, purchasing, and selling of NFT assets, makes it safe from copying or forgery. 

NFTs have created a new marketplace with many new ways to make money. For instance, many people buy NFTs and “flip” them to someone else for more Ethereum, thus making an easy profit. Flipping NFTs can be easy once you learn how to do it. According to www.cnbc.com,  it is so easy that even a 12-year-old, such as Benyamin Ahmed from London, has made close to $400,000 selling NFTs that he created.

Some students at TBS have also created their own NFTs and have sold them for profit. Sixth grader Lia Interlandi is one of them.

“I first got into making them in August of 2021,” she said. “I got into making NFT’s when my dad wanted to find out more about them. He told me to make a few drawings and he would post them online. I enjoyed it, so I made more.” 

NFTs may seem difficult to make due to all the technology involved with them, but they really aren’t according to Interlandi.

“You would go into OpenSea, publish the photo, and put [in] a description,” she said. “I’ve made like 30 or 40 [NFTs] so far,” she said  Interlandi.

OpenSea.com is a website for buying, selling, and trading NFTs. Many NFT’s offer special gifts and benefits to their owners. For example, owning one of these NFTs can get you invited to exclusive parties. 

One popular group is the BAYT, which is known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club. According to www.cnet.com, many famous celebrities have bought one of these NFTs for themselves, including Steph Curry, Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, and the Adidas brand itself. 

“I have heard of the Bored Ape Yacht Club,” said eighth grader Han Tang. “I know it’s a collection of NFT’s that all look like monkeys and that they have parties with other Bored Ape owners,” he said.

Some of the apes wear different accessories like sunglasses, t-shirts, and more. There are also “mutant serums” which consumers can buy in order to turn an ape into a mutant version of itself which increases the value of the original NFT.

NFTs are great gifts since they can be owned like real objects and can be kept until the price rises, much like a stock. 

“I do own an NFT, the one gifted [to me] by my aunt,” said seventh grader AJ Serro. “The name of it is Dizzy Dragon. I think an NFT can be a good gift if you are not thinking of it as an investment, but the art being interesting,” he said.

The NFT market could be a quick way to make money, which sounds good to some people, but also seems risky to others.

“I have no plan in buying another NFT [from the] financial side because I am not confident in the market,” said Serro.

NFTs are sure to be emphasized in the future due to the metaverse, a virtual society where you can interact with others and own assets in connection with the real world economy, but for now, the flashiest thing one may see is a basketball player wearing one while dunking in the dunk contest.